The Greenville times., 1887-01-01

riding a few miles aud inspecting
the grass from the elevation Of a
horses back, / dlsmounted and
carefully examined it, bunch after
bunch, until, Il had inspected fifty
punches. The story was told. In
no bunch which | examined were
there more than twelve stalks of
this years grass. The other stalks,
from twenty to sixty to each
bunch, were last years growth.
II is not possible for cattle to sep
arate the good grass from the
poor. Three quarters of the food
that the cattle, which have grazed
in the foothills during the past
summer, have eaten consisted of
the weather beaten, rain.soaked
grass of last years growth. 1t is
no wonder that they ventured far
into the mountains in search OF
fresh and tender feed.
Almost daily, while hunting IN
the Sierra Madre mountains, saw
small bands of cattle feeding in
the mountain parks or in the green
timber. These animals were almost
as wild as elk. They fed IN the
same localities as the elk and
blaektailed deer did. | judged
from the frequency with which /
saw those small herds that there
were many hundreds of them in
the mountains. What will be the
fate of these halfwild animals
which were grazing in the lofty,
pine clad highlands three weeks
ago | unhesitatingly answer, not
one IN ten will get out Of the
mountains. Before this time they
are showed IN. Instinct, or may be
superior reasoning power, teaches
game animals to fly out Of the
mountains when heavy snow
storms begin to rage. Cattle have
not this instinct. They are almost
sure to linger too long in the high
lands, aud there they die of cold
and hunger. The nature of the
ground forbids their being driven
out. and, indeed, the cowboys
have no heart to enter unknown
and intricate mountain systems in
search of these cattle, as they
might get lost themselves,
My huuting camp was pitched
on the eastern slope Of tho Sierra
Madre mountains about two miles
from the summit OF the divide,
Between ii and tho bare foothills
was jaokstraw.like tangle Of
down timber, and two wide belts
Of green timber. y heavy snow
fell steadily all of one night. Re.
alizlng that the hunt was ut an
end, we packed up and Travelled
down the rugged mountain TANKS,
now in down timber, now in green
We passed many bands of cattle
that ran in all directions, except.
ing the right one, ut our approach
Ii was evident that they had for
gotten the trails on which they
entered the highlands in early
summer. These cattle are sure to
die this winter. In the treeless
foothills all the cattle which had
passed the summer there were
trailing for the lower valley. To
the extent Of vision, both to the
north and south, short columns OF
cattle could be seen at intervals
wading slowly through the snow
The next day, curious to see what
the cattle would do when they
found there was no feed in the
valley, / rode to the lowlands
Before / got to the base of the
foothills | met cattle walking up
the mountain. They had been
down to the valley, and finding no
feed had assembled the hills, pre-.
ferring to rustic in the snow rath.
er than to starve In the snowless
grassless plains. In the valley
many hundred cattle stood in line
along the barbod wire fences, OF
at the banks of irrigating bitches
waiting until hunger drove then
back to tho snowclad foothills
Presently they started, singly, in
pairs and in family columns, and
by night the valley was again des
titnte Of cattle. 1t was a pltifu
sight to SEQ the hungry animals
rcsolutely enter the foothills ant
the deep snow in search of food.
As it is in this valley so it is ii
many others. 7 mot and talket
with cattle growers who grazC
their herds in the north, in thu
south, in the west and on the
plains, and with few exceptions
all told the same story. That th'
, native grasses on closely grazeC
grounds were almost extinct; tina
the grass had been trOdden out o
many Valleys; that other extensiv,
: areas had been almost ruined b,
oyerstocking, and that disaster
. serious and widespread, menaceI
the whole cattle growing industr,
west of the l01st meridian,